Okay, because I wanted my bargain Rosenblum zinfandel to have every opportunity to show at its best, we did have a nice steak dinner. You know, it’s sort of like putting on your Sunday best when you’re trying to make a good impression. If the wine showed poorly, I didn’t want to think it was because I didn’t give it my best shot. So I chose the Sonoma Valley Maggie’s Reserve to go with the grilled T-Bones and Susie brought sauteed mushrooms. The dinner was delicious and the wine was a good complement although it quickly became apparent that most of the fruit was gone. No question that there was plenty of sharp pepper and spice and maybe a hint of licorice.(The label said a burst of eucalpytus but none of us detected any.) Not bad, but I do like fruit in my zinfandel. However, as it opened up in the glass, it became more mellow. It certainly did complement… Read More »
Blind Wine Tasting
Wine bottles lined the counter, each in a black velvet bag with a number on it. It was a blind tasting. Irene King had just passed her level one Sommelier exam, and the night before led the American Wine Society’s monthly seminar. Tonight she was hosting our wine club at her house and had chosen the wines she thought we would enjoy and she also hoped would confound us. “What on earth is Moroccan spice?” Gidget muttered as we sat at the table with a glass of wine in front of us. Gidget has an amazing palate and an even more amazing nose. If she says she’s getting aromas of ripe plum or lavender, you can bet on it. We were reading the description of the Hug Cellars red from Paso Robles: “Medium red violet color, has layered complexity with Moroccan spice, herbs, roasted meat and brimming with red fruits like raspberry and… Read More »
Wine from Bulgaria — Who Knew?
“So how bad can it be?” Paula asked, holding up a bottle of wine with a handsome stag on the label. “Hey, if we don’t like it we can always cook with it.” This exchange took place a couple of years ago when Paula and I had been shopping at Lee’s Discount Liquors. There, just in front of the check-out counter, was a large barrel of wine marked $1.99. There were two different wines, but nothing either of us had heard of. There was the elegant stag; surely that would be good wine. The other had bold printing which certainly denoted a no-nonsense, hearty Cabernet, right? It turned out that we got sucked in by pretty labels and a cheap price. But hey, at the time we thought for a mere $1.99 we’d both get some. Why not give it a try? We both reached for the bottles with the handsome stag. I’ve since learned… Read More »
Using the right wine glass (it says here …)
A couple of decades ago — maybe a little more — The Riedel Company came out with a whole new concept in wine glasses: A glass for every particular variety of wine. No longer did you simply have one glass for red and one glass for white wine. Oh, my no! Heaven forbid you drink a Bordeaux out of a Burgundy glass. (You peasant! It’s obvious that all your taste is in your mouth — oh, well, not exactly; that would be a good thing in this case, wouldn’t it?) Riedel produces at least 13 different lines of glasses including a stemless wine glass that my friend Paula likes because if you happen to knock it over, it rights itself like a child’s toy. You can spend hours playing with this if you are one of the “easily amused.” Once I started getting serious about wine and realized my beautiful cut-crystal Waterford… Read More »
I WON THE WINE !
CONGRATULATIONS! YOU WON! The e-mail flashed on my screen. “Look, Paddy, my bid won!” I gave Paddy a squeeze. Paddy gave me a large yawn and dug his claws into my thigh. “Hey!” I yelled as I pushed him off my lap. He raised his tail to me saying “That’s what you get for waking me up.” This is the first time I’ve actually won a bid on the Public Radio auction. I’ve checked it out in years past but have always been put off by the fact that the set opening bid was not that much lower than the stated value. I mean, isn’t the thrill of an auction the hope that you’re going to get a steal? Of course, the purpose of this auction is to support public radio, so one isn’t supposed to care about getting something for next-to-nothing. I’m not one of those people. The thrill of the auction… Read More »
